DARE TO COMPARE: Thermostat Wars

This Saturday's DARE TO COMPARE is a potential MONEY SAVER, TIME SAVER, and for our family it was definitely a SANITY SAVER!

It felt like every day my Husband and I were fighting over the set temperature of the thermostat.  I was usually complaining it was too cold while he complained it was too hot.  Hubby was mostly in control of the temperature ups and downs, as our thermostat is not programmable, but when I felt I was uncomfortable I took charge.  This caused constant bickering between us.  It really was a small issue but it created big conflict.

So what's a good Mom to do?


The idea: 
This was caused by accident.  My hubby left on business for four days leaving me alone to run the household.  Many of you Moms do this on a regular basis and I applaud you.  I am not at all accustomed to being without my Other Half so this was a challenging time for me.  With two young kids, a dog, two cats, and fish to feed along with all my usual chores (and some of Hubby's usual chores) I did not remember or even think about changing the temperature on our thermostat.  It wasn't until the third day that I realized the kids and I had been living in a constant house temperature.  More than 48 hours!  I hadn't felt especially warm or cold.  It was great!

The How-To:
Choose a temperature you're comfortable with for now.  Slowly adjust up one degree or down one degree until you find the perfect balance.  I recommend only doing the adjustments in the middle of the day, or when you get home from work, when the day is hottest.  You're really trying to find the lowest temperature in which you feel comfortable.  In our optimal temperature I need to wear a cardigan if I'm sitting still, fine when I'm moving around (aka playing with the kids, doing dishes, feeding pets, etc.) and not sweating buckets when I'm doing the big chores (aka mopping, bathroom cleaning, chasing the kids, etc.).  Our temperature, if you were curious, that we have chosen to always leave the house at is 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius.  We do adjust it up a degree on the very very cold nights when it dips below -4 F/-20C. 

The Result: 
When Hubby came home and started adjusting the temperatures again I informed him of the accidental experiment I'd performed.  He was skeptical but if it meant less fighting he was on board.  Amazingly our home feels warmer in the day and cooler in the evening.  I credit this to body heat.  In the day we're moving around warming ourselves and the house.  While at night we slow down and so release less heat into the house.  This is my guess anyways.  We don't fight at all now over the thermostat.  The war has ended!

The Cost: 
 We heat our home exclusively with a natural gas forced air furnace.  I asked Hubby if he'd noticed a difference in our billing since we started going to the constant temperature.  He said the bill has gone up slightly but that this was also a much colder winter than last year so it was harder to compare.  He doesn't mind the cost because we're still paying way less for heat compared to our previous home that was heated by electric baseboards.

I know that for those of you with programmable thermostats this isn't an issue and you don't have thermostat wars.  For those who do this may be a viable solution for you.  I know that in our home, it may not be a MONEY SAVER, but it does save a few seconds of time changing it up and down all the live-long day, and it really saves our SANITY.  And maybe even our marriage....maybe not.

What do you think?

Could you leave you home at a constant temperature all day?

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